Introduction

QARTOD is a continuing multi-agency effort to address the quality assurance and quality control issues of the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) community. The first workshop was held at the NOAA NDBC office in Bay St. Louis, MS in the winter of 2003. Over 80 participants attended with the primary task to develop minimum standards for calibration, QA/QC methods and metadata. The workshop resulted in a report which summarized the recommendations on these issues and on future workshops. QARTOD II (second workshop) was held February 28-March 2, 2005 in Norfolk, VA. This workshop focused on wave and current measurements and their unique calibration, metadata and QA/QC needs. A final report is in the process of being published. Presentations and results of breakout sessions are posted here. QARTOD III was held on November 2-4, 2005 at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA. It continued the work on waves and current measurements, as well as commencing work on CTD measurements and HF Radar. The final report can be reviewed here. QARTOD IV will be held at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, June 21 - 23, 2006.

The QARTOD IV workshop will address the challenges related to the collection, distribution and description of real-time ocean data. One of the primary challenges facing the oceanographic community will be the fast and accurate assessment of the quality of the data streaming from the IOOS partner systems. Operational data aggregation and assembly from distributed data sources will be essential to the ability to adequately describe and predict the physical, chemical and biological state of the coastal ocean. These activities demand a trustworthy and consistent quality description for every observation distributed as part of IOOS. The intent of QARTOD IV is to report on the recommended quality descriptions for parameters such as waves and currents and to develop guides to best practices to assure data quality.

The workshop will focus participants into four areas of interest: waves, insitu currents, CTD measurements and dissolved oxygen.

The waves and currents groups will be reporting on results from previous workshops on testing data quality and defining flags for real-time release of data. Efforts will begin at Qartod IV to define best practices and shared resources for promoting quality assurance.

The CTD group is reorganizing and the dissolved oxygen group is newly formed. Focus questions addressing QA, QC or international standards are being developed and will be posted prior to the workshop.

The workshop is being funded by NOAA with support from Oceans.US and the WHOI CICOR office. There will be metadata experts guiding each group towards the development of minimum standards in metadata.

Hope to see you there.

Location

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is located in Woods Hole, MA. Woods Hole is approximately 75 miles south of Boston on Cape Cod. It is surrounded by the waters of Martha's Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay and just a few miles south of Falmouth, which is typically New England (village green, Main Street and a Congregational Church with a bell cast by Paul Revere).

Agenda

Hotels

Blocks of rooms have been reserved at several nearby hotels. To
secure the rates listed below be sure to mention QARTOD when you make
your reservations by
May 26.

The Falmouth Inn and The Inn on the Square are in Falmouth and we will arrange shuttle service to/from each of these hotels. They both have indoor pools. The Inn on the Square is nearer the bus station and is a nice place for walkers. The Falmouth Inn is a short walk to Falmouth Harbor, where a ferry departs frequently for Martha's Vineyard.

The Nautilus and the Sands of Time are in Woods Hole. It is a short walk to the WHOI shuttle, which runs every 20 minutes. The rooms may or may not have a view. They are walking distance to neighborhood beaches.

Sands of Time Motor Inn and Harbor House @ $140 + tax/night

Reservations
for rooms at the Sands of Time Motor Inn will be held at the QARTOD
rate until May 20, 2006 (5
Rooms)

Please mention "QARTOD" when making your reservations in order to receive the preferred rate.

Flights

Flights should be arranged to Boston, MA (LOGAN) or Providence, RI. Logan has limited bus service to Falmouth (check schedulehttp://secure.gatewayticketing.com/bonanza/ScheduleGrid.aspx. Providence does not. Both are about an hour and a half drive, but Providence has easier access for driving, as the airport is not in the city.

Shuttle Needs

If you don't plan to rent a car, please check 'yes' on your registration form that you'll have shuttle needs for tours and workshop. We'll send out email later to those who have indicated a need. There is no public transportation available and parking is limited ... so we plan to pick up/drop off from the hotel, workshop, the dinner and any tours that we organize. If you arrive by car, we'll have someone arrange for a parking sticker for you at the workshop. Buses from Logan do arrive a block from the Inn on the Square. Otherwise, the other hotels are a short cab ride from the bus terminal. We'll post the cab phone numbers soon.